Chapter 92
Under the black sky.
The Jukcheon Order was running with tense expressions.
Agaris is an opponent they must confront at the risk of death.
Their main objective is to buy time, and they have to stretch it for at least two days, so they can’t help but feel nervous.
Of course, Kraush, who was at the forefront, had no intention of merely buying time.
‘It’s time to begin.’
His mind was solely filled with thoughts of defeating the enemy.
“Kraush, what do you know about Agaris?”
Kraush had confidently claimed he could stand against Agaris. So when Lilish asked, he spoke up.
“I know that the moment the black sky appears, it means he’s started to see us.”
The black sky represents Agaris’s gaze.
And below that black sky, the erosion entities possess a different power than before.
They grow about twice their normal size and their innate demonic traits become stronger, thanks to entering Agaris’s territory.
“Also, I know that we must avoid making direct eye contact with him. If we do, we’ll start with vision impairment followed by a chain of curses.”
“Good. You’re well informed.”
Lilish nodded lightly.
“Agaris is a tricky erosion entity because of its inherent curse traits. The main reason I brought you along is for this very reason.”
Lilish’s rational judgment was correct.
Had Kraush not specifically mentioned curses, she might have deemed his inclusion mere bravado.
Kraush was aware of Lilish’s nature, which is why he addressed it head-on.
“Yes, I can dispel that curse.”
“…But it isn’t dangerous, right?”
“Not at all.”
It felt a bit weird getting worried about by Lilish, but Kraush shrugged it off.
Sorry, but when it comes to world erosion, Kraush was more of an expert than Lilish at the moment.
The world’s erosion had reached a point where humans could still resist.
“Then what are the chances we can defeat Agaris if you dispel that curse?”
“Fifty-fifty.”
When Kraush asserted this, Lilish slowly smiled.
“That’s quite high.”
Indeed, it was high.
That probability was based on the assumption that everyone would return alive.
However, Kraush chose not to mention this.
He suspected Lilish would consider it a ridiculous statement.
“Just to clarify, we’ll focus on buying time first.”
Kraush didn’t oppose that.
He just knew that inevitably, Lilish would shift her thoughts towards tackling Agaris.
“Lady Lilish.”
At that moment, Darvian, who had been following alongside, spoke up.
This was because darkness had appeared ahead of their path.
Deep, billowing shadows stretched out before them, mirroring the black sky.
Lilish halted her steps.
At this point, continuing to run would serve no purpose.
“All units, prepare for battle!”
As Lilish issued the command, the knights swiftly drew their weapons, exhaling the breaths they had been holding from the earlier sprint, their expressions turning serious.
“It’s coming.”
As soon as Lilish spoke, dum dum dum dum!
The ground began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
Simultaneously, a multitude of presences surged forth from the darkness.
“All troops, focus solely on reducing the number of erosion entities under the black sky from now on!”
With a robust response from the knights, the erosion entities began to flood from the shadows.
Each of them appeared distinctly different.
However, they all had one thing in common: they boasted dozens of bright red eyes where there shouldn’t have been any.
Moreover, they had grown stronger than their original abilities.
They were at least at the expert level, making it nearly impossible to confront them without being at the top tier.
This was Agaris’s innate ability: Dominion.
To defeat Agaris, handling these minions was the most crucial task.
‘For every entity with eyes, Agaris’s strength increases.’
Thus, any minions that had become servants of Agaris needed to be eliminated, as much as possible.
This task would fall to the Nokhae Order once Agaris fully manifested.
They were summoned for that very purpose.
But for now, Agaris had yet to show up.
Kraush tightened his grip on Thunderclap at his waist and took his stance.
As he inhaled sharply, the world erosion ignited within him, triggering his Fire Suppression Erosion.
His body naturally heated up.
The intense heat slowly seeped out of his mouth.
At the same time, Kraush unleashed black flames onto the golden blades of aura blossoming from Thunderclap.
Lionor steadily began to take shape like a scabbard.
This was to deliver the first strike.
Since they were going to fight anyway, he might as well hit hard.
Crack!
As the black flames erupted from within the scabbard of lightning, they flared even more intensely.
When the black flames reached their peak and the blade of lightning roared, Kraush released the pent-up flames.
Doomsday Searing Erosion.
First Form.
Flame-Extinguishing Draw!
Boom!
The surging black flames swept through the surrounding area.
The erosion entities rushing towards the blaze were immediately incinerated.
The ones in the rear were somewhat spared since they were farther away from the Flame-Extinguishing Draw’s radius, but those poor souls had flames clinging to their bodies.
The black flames forged from Ignis exhibited exceptional effectiveness in burning away world erosion.
Survivors among the erosion entities screamed in agony as they writhed on the ground.
The knights stood aghast for a moment, staring at Kraush, who towered over the defeated erosion entities.
That previous high-output strike was a technique none of them could replicate.
Knights prioritize stability, which is why they typically wouldn’t unleash a powerful strike that incinerated their own bodies.
Thus, Kraush’s reckless but effective attack carved itself deep into their minds.
Kraush Valheim.
The fact that he was a direct descendant of Valheim was becoming undeniable.
“What’s wrong with you all? Get it together! More are coming!”
Lilish shouted, breaking the knights from their trance.
They had momentarily lost focus due to Kraush’s Flame-Extinguishing Draw.
The knights hurriedly re-engaged in the battle, as new erosion entities rushed in, just as Lilish had warned.
Seeing how many were out there despite their earlier kills, it seemed nearly impossible to eradicate all of them if they aimed to reduce Agaris’s power.
“Kraush, you’re really going all out.”
Seeing Kraush in action, Lilish commented, her expression not overly surprised.
She had witnessed him defeat Harphas, after all.
As such, she had a rough understanding of Kraush’s combat style.
But understanding the theory and witnessing it firsthand was entirely different.
‘An extreme high-output attack.’
It was a ludicrous technique that cared nothing for the aftermath, solely focused on annihilating the opponent.
Honestly, Lilish wanted to dissuade Kraush.
His techniques seemed to neglect the future entirely.
It felt as if he thought that if he didn’t give his all now, there wouldn’t be a future.
Each of his techniques was the best he could muster without regard for his own well-being.
For now, it was fine.
Kraush was still young and had plenty of days ahead.
But someday, the repercussions of today would leave scars on his future.
‘Does he even realize that?’
Lilish glanced at Kraush as she struck down an erosion entity.
Kraush’s frantic desperate power made her feel it was related to being born into the Valheim family.
‘When I get back…’
She thought she should ask.
Despite having left him alone too long to the point she hadn’t even been able to call him ‘brother,’ she realized she needed to speak to him as a sister now.
Doing nothing would change nothing, and she had become aware of this.
＊ ＊ ＊
It had already been hours fighting the erosion entities.
Just when they thought they were reducing their numbers, they would suddenly swell back again.
Thud!
For the first time, the darkness trembled violently.
Simultaneously, the previously stagnant shadows began to expand and swoop towards the knights.
“Nokhae Order Leader! From now on, retreat while fighting off the emerging erosion entities!”
At that moment, at Lilish’s command, the Nokhae Order members hurriedly halted their combat and started running toward the shadow’s edge.
There would be no chance of victory once they stepped into the depths of the darkness.
Agaris’s darkness was like black rain.
Being within it, the curse entwined in the darkness would slowly seep into their bodies, leading to ruin.
“Kraush.”
Lilish turned to Kraush.
To withstand the darkness, one would need at least master-level strength.
Kraush was at the expert top tier.
So Lilish asked out of caution.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course. You know what my skill is, right?”
Kraush spoke reassuringly to Lilish, indicating she shouldn’t worry.
Ignis burns away the world erosion itself.
So long as he set ablaze the curse before it could infiltrate, it would be just fine.
Of course, this meant he had to constantly burn himself with Ignis, which was a downside.
But Kraush didn’t particularly mind.
He was already doing that anyway.
‘If only Belorkin had done the same back then…’
He clicked his tongue at the thought of Belorkin.
Had he not been afraid to incinerate himself, he likely wouldn’t have met his end at Cheongha’s curse.
In that moment, as darkness surged toward them, Crimson Garden chimed in.
Kraush nodded in understanding.
No matter how impressive Crimson Garden’s crow was, it could hardly endure the darkness of Agaris.
“Just wait a moment. I’ll be out soon enough, so enjoy the view around you for now.”
As Kraush joked, Crimson Garden let out a heavy sigh.
‘I should have turned one of those knights into a servant.’
“Are you worrying about me?”
‘Worry is pointless; I’m just curious what foolish thing you might pull.’
While Kraush felt Crimson’s attitude was growing increasingly harsh, he sensed her underlying concern and didn’t argue back.
“Return safely.”
As Crimson soared away, Kraush was engulfed by the surrounding darkness alongside the Jukcheon Order.
Within the pitch-black void.
Kraush slowly surveyed his surroundings, wrapped in the blazing Fire Suppression Erosion.
His senses were engulfed as light and sound completely vanished.
The darkness swallowed everything.
Within this abyss, all sensations become erratically distorted.
Eventually, he began to question whether he truly existed and if he was really alive at all.
This was the effect of Agaris’s darkness—a curse of forgetfulness.
Within the darkness of oblivion, people crumble under its weight.
They forget to breathe or even the beat of their hearts.
Whoosh—
Of course, that was irrelevant to Kraush.
He incinerated every attempt of the darkness trying to invade him.
And the same applied to the other knights.
They used their aura to protect themselves from the curse within the shadows.
Though their aura would gradually diminish, the master-level knights moved without issue, aside from the obstruction of visibility.
“Kraush, can you hear me?”
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Kraush’s mind.
It was none other than Darvian, the vice-captain of the Jukcheon Order.
This was his skill, Vikalas.
He could relay his intentions to all specified targets, and he even shared sensory feedback, making it an incredibly useful skill for operating the knights.
“I’ll share my senses with you.”
Once he shared his senses, Kraush could pinpoint the locations of all the other Jukcheon Order members.
This meant they could boldly venture into the darkness without fear.
As Kraush waited in silence, a brief tingling sensation coursed through his head, indicating that the sensory sharing had begun.
He could start to feel the positions of the Jukcheon Order members, even without his intuition.
It was indeed a handy ability in this regard.
‘I wish I had that.’
But it was not something he’d just take for himself.
If he hoarded everything, the talent pool would shrink, and he’d be unable to stop world erosion in places without his presence.
He wanted no part in that.
“Kraush, can you hear me?”
“Yes, loud and clear.”
At that moment, Lilish called out to Kraush.
Though the Jukcheon Order was accustomed to sensory sharing, it was Kraush’s first time, so they made sure to accommodate him.
“Alright, in about 10 minutes, Agaris will arrive here.”
That was fast.
Whatever Agaris was up to continually moving onward was beyond Kraush’s comprehension, but there was no choice but to confront it.
“Once battle commences, we need to ensure Agaris’s attention is firmly secured to buy us some time afterward. We don’t know your full power level. Can we leave it to your discretion?”
What a sensible decision.
If they tried to force Kraush to synchronize with the Jukcheon Order, it would merely lead to awkwardness, as they hadn’t trained together.
“Yes.”
Thus, Lilish granted Kraush the authority to operate independently.
Hearing his response, Lilish raised her sword.
At that moment, the blue aura flowing from her blade lit up fiercely enough to push back the shadows surrounding them.
This served as a beacon of sorts for the Jukcheon Order.
“All units, prepare for battle!”
As Lilish shouted once more, a row of blood-red eyes began to emerge from the darkness surrounding them.
Screeeeech!
A grotesque sound reverberated, reminiscent of fingernails scraping against metal, filled the air.
Plop—
With a sound of something dropping, something began to emerge through the far shadows.
Though her face was hidden by the pitch-blackness, the horns atop her head marked her as a demon.
Simultaneously, her long arms stretched from the crimson-cloaked figure, radically deviating from the shape of a human.
As this being walked, darkness dripped down in a manner akin to ink.
Chill!
Just the sight of it sent shivers down Kraush’s spine, causing him to chuckle nervously.
The bright red eyes of the darkness perched on the creature’s inky body came into view.
And it began.
The surrounding darkness transformed into a torrent of tangible blades, pouring forth.
The 8th-level erosion entity, Agaris.
The Dark Lord made his appearance.
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